New ACSM office, same address

by Ilse Genovese

We have moved. Our address does not change because the new ACSM office is in the same building as before, and our suite number moved with us. The move happened in mid-May, and, as the photo shows, staff are very happy with their attractive, albeit compact, office. more

Thales Navigation works for surveyors

by Robert W. Snow

With the Thales and Magellan brands behind its powerful GPS solutions, Thales Navigation plays a leading role worldwide in positioning and navigation. The ACSM Bulletin interviewed Dr. Robert W. Snow, Director of Thales Navigation Sales and Marketing, in Orlando earlier this year about Thales Navigation's recent GPS solutions developed specifically for the surveying market.more

The Transcontinental Arc: Part 3

by Charles A. Burroughs

To place the work of the transcontinental arc of triangulation along the 39th parallel into proper perspective as regards all the other works accomplished by the Survey in a particular year, the following excerpts from the Superintendent's Report to the Secretary of Treasury, for transmittal to Congress in 1879, are particularly informative: "I am glad to record the fact that during the past year all branches of the work were finally organized and in progress, so far as the reduced appropriations would permit, along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, and in many of the interior states...." more

Partners in science, technology, and public service

by Ilse Genovese

Far from the spotlight of TV cameras in picturesque southern Virginia, 50 years of geomagnetic research were celebrated—and a new future heralded. The Fredericksburg Geomagnetic Observatory in Corbin, which has for half a century been providing magnetic data for navigation—be it hiking, or piloting an aircraft, or sending a space shuttle into orbit—will from now on also be the site of NOAA's National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey Laboratory and Training Center. more

Geodesy? What's That?

Part 15: Catch 22 and a string of kudos

by Irene K. Fischer

Thanks to my colleagues John Brady and Paul Berdy, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) project progressed as planned and, by February 1977, I had decided on a density model to use as the basis for all further computations. Time was getting perceptibly shorter and needed to be parceled out carefully. Counting backwards from the fixed date of my retirement at the end of July, I allocated the last week or two for "end of business," about six weeks for clearance of the paper to give it ample time for possible red tape hurdles (that means: send it out for clearance in early June), and about a month to write it and assemble tables and illustrations (that means: start in early May). So get doubly busy now to incorporate what was needed for a rounded picture. There always could be unforeseen snags in any research. more

Young, talented, and ready to make a difference

by Stephanie Deitrick and Ilse Genovese

Each year, member organizations of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping collectively offer over 20 awards in support of education and communication in the field of surveying and mapping. In 2006, the $1000 scholarship offered by Cartography and Geographic Information Science was awarded to Stephanie Deitrick, a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University. The ACSM Bulletin asked Stephanie to tell our audience about herself and how she came to study geography. more